


Love Blooms

by Kolivans (arka_r)



Series: tumblr drabbles [41]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Awkward Crush, Developing Relationship, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Mutual Pining, Snippets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-30
Updated: 2018-08-30
Packaged: 2019-07-02 17:46:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15801513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arka_r/pseuds/Kolivans
Summary: Guns of Gamara AU - Gunslinger Romelle helps Acxa recover from hoktril influence. Things got gay.





	Love Blooms

**I.**

“I brought you breakfast”, Romelle announced as she entered her and Acxa’s shared room. On the bed, Acxa looked up from the datapad she was reading and smiled thinly. 

 

“How are you feeling today?” Romelle asked as she slipped to sit next to her.

 

Acxa bit the bottom of her lips, confusion flashing in her face. Romelle waited patiently as the half Galra flailed her hands, trying to find the word to describe the feeling she felt. The expression, while cute, was kind of sad.

 

Acxa was a Half Galra that the Guns of Gamara saved from some governor’s house. While Honerva could successfully remove the hoktril from her, its influence still plagued her. Apparently, her handler put it on while she was still very young. Now that she was freed from it, she still had a hard time recovering and figuring out her own emotions.

 

It made Romelle nauseous to think about; who could be so heartless to put such an abominable device on a  _ child _ ? She knew the Empire was evil, but this was on a whole different level of  _ evil _ . It made her blood boil with rage, one that she knew she would weaponize during her next missions.

 

“It’s alright if you can’t describe it yet”, Romelle reassured, placing her hand on Acxa’s shoulder.

 

“No, no! I almost got it", Acxa spluttered. “I think I’m… hungry?”

 

“Well, I got that covered already”, Romelle smiled and put the tray she was carrying on the table next to Acxa’s bed. “Do you want me to leave?”

 

“No. I like… when you’re around”, Acxa replied shyly. “If you’re not busy?”

 

Romelle blushed at that. She had a training session in thirty doboshes, but she supposed she could stay for awhile.

 

“Alright then”, Romelle settled on the bed.

 

While Acxa ate, Romelle chattered about every mundane thing she did around the Guns of Gamara headquarters. While she was no longer a new recruit, the Guns of Gamara was so severely understaffed that all Gunslingers available at the headquarters were expected to do multiple chores a day—even high-ranked Gunslingers like Honerva and Zarkon did so too.

 

“I wish I could do something more to help”, Acxa said with a small crease between her brows.

 

“It’s alright!” Romelle reassured her with a bright smile. “You focus on getting better first. Then, you can help us out all you want!” She ended with punching the air.

 

Acxa giggled and Romelle smiled with her. The sound made it feel like a thousand suns burned inside Romelle’s chest, filling her with warmth and determination. 

 

She would give everything in the Universe to make Acxa laugh.

 

—

 

**II.**

After breakfast, Romelle’s routine continued with her being pummelled onto the training mat.

 

She wheezed as she tried to gather her bearings. It felt like she just got hit by an angry klan-müirl, except this was even  _ worse _ . At least a klan-müirl did not frown in disappointment at her if she failed to dodge its attack.

 

“End training session”, Zarkon clapped his hands, before helping Romelle up to her feet. His signature ‘worried but disappointed’ look was etched onto his face. “You seem out of focus today.”

 

From the corner of her eyes, Romelle could see Acxa standing outside the training mat. She stuck out amongst the other Gunslingers who were waiting for their turn. There was clear worry painted on her face. 

 

When Romelle turned her attention back to Zarkon, she found his ears perking up in amusement. Romelle groaned and covered her face in embarrassment.

 

“I see…” Zarkon hummed, smirking knowingly. 

 

“It’s not—” Romelle paused, sighing. “Look, Z, can we just go back to throwing me to the training mat?”

 

Zarkon complied, warm smile on his face at the little nickname, and the training continued. Romelle tried to keep her focus on Zarkon, but it was… hard. Her gaze kept being pulled to where Acxa was standing—her fists were raised and her ears perked up in excitement. When their eyes met, she gave Romelle two thumbs-up.

 

It gave her some kind of boost. 

 

Zarkon was never known to pull his punches and he noticed that Romelle was out of focus again. He was about to use it to his own advantage, when instead, Romelle redirected his attack back to him. One on one, he was no match with her Altean superstrength and she managed to throw him to the floor, though he balanced himself rather quickly.

 

Zarkon took off his stance and laughed, praises coming out of his mouth, but Romelle’s attention was back to Acxa, who cheered on her the loudest.

 

“Can you teach me how to fight?” Acxa asked after the training session ended for real and they were heading to do their chores.

 

When Romelle was not out on a mission, she and Acxa would often spend time together. Incidentally, most of their daily chore schedule matched (which had the leadership’s digital fingerprints all over it, those nosy old farts).

  
  
  


— 

 

**III.**

“Are you done with the bathroom?” Romelle asked, poking her head into said bathroom where Acxa was supposed to be cleaning. Instead, she found her sitting on the floor, gutting the cleaning droid with a scary expression on her face. “Um.”

 

“I—” Acxa looked up and flustered. “The cleaning droid got something stuck in it, so… um.”

 

She twisted a part of the droid and it hummed back to life. Acxa released it from her palm and it whirred away, happily sucking on grime and filth from the bathroom walls and floor.

 

“You fixed it? I— I can’t believe— How did you do  _ that _ ?!” Romelle pointed at the droid. “How did you know how to fix it?”

 

“I read up its schematics earlier”, Acxa answered. “It looked easy enough.”

 

_ Easy? _ Stars, it took Romelle two years studying engineering before she could figure out how to reroute surveillance droids—and Acxa learned it in one sitting? “Wow… You’re a genius!”

 

Acxa blushed purple.

 

—

 

**IV.**

Once the chores were done and the night was late, they sat side by side on the observatory deck, staring at the blue giant star slowly being swallowed by the twin black holes. There was some kind of metaphor there that described their small group of resistance, but honestly, Romelle was too tired to think about one.

 

“When I was little”, Acxa spoke up all of a sudden. “Before… everything. Before that, my mother would tell me that the stars were flowers planted by Mother Universe.”

 

Romelle thought back about her own mother, who told her that all the stars in the Universe belonged to the Altea Empire. Her mother was a Sacred Altean, while her father was a lieutenant—the two of them disowned her when she joined the Guns of Gamara.

 

“She sounds like a nice person”, Romelle said diplomatically.

 

Acxa hummed in agreement, before speaking up again. “I don’t remember what happened to her. They put  _ it _ on me right after I was ripped from her arms. I don’t…” she paused, choking on her own words. Tears began to form in her eyes. “I don’t  _ know _ if she’s still alive out there or not.”

 

Realistically, Romelle knew that the chance in finding Acxa’s family would be next to nothing. Non-Altean beings simply did not have a good chance of survival as long as the Altea Empire was still standing and ever-expanding its influence. But still, she wanted to help Acxa reunite with her family—after everything that she had been through, she  _ deserved  _ it.

 

And she knew exactly where to ask.

 

— 

 

 **V.**  

“How’s Acxa?” Honerva asked as soon as Romelle entered the command room, already dressed in her Gunslinger uniform. 

 

The older Altean had her attention focused on the screens before her, but apparently that didn’t stop her from being a noisy old lady. Romelle rolled her eyes and shut the door behind her.

 

“I see that”, Honerva chided. “And quit pouting.”

 

Romelle blushed. “I do  _ not  _ pout!”

 

“Sure, you are”, Honerva said, turning with a knowing smirk on her aged face. “It’s nice to be young. I still remember when Zarkon and I were hopelessly pining for each other back when we were younger.”

 

“Can we start with mission debrief already?” Romelle groaned. She  _ absolutely _ did not need to know about her superiors’ romantic endeavor back when they were younger… whenever that was.

 

“You have not answered my question yet”, Honerva pointed out. “How is Acxa?”

 

With a sigh, Romelle told her that Acxa would be best put as one of the engineers. She also told Honerva about the cleaning droid thing from a few quintants ago—and the Guns of Gamara always needed new engineers anyway. Honerva listened intently, and eventually, their conversation moved onto the actual mission debrief.

 

_ Finally _ , Romelle thought fiercely. She had been keeping anger inside her chest—and now she could let it out.

 

—

 

**VI.**

And let it out she did—and Romelle wished she hadn’t. The mission was difficult and bloody, and three Gunslingers in their group perished. Romelle had never been so glad that she and Narti made it out alive; and she had never been so regretful about letting her emotions interfere with her judgement.

 

“I’ll catch up with you”, Romelle told Narti once they walked out of the ship. Narti’s eyeless, expressionless face lingered to her direction, her tail flicking in distress, but eventually she left Romelle alone in the hangar.

 

Romelle slumped against the wall and sobbed into her knees.

 

It was her fault— _ her fault _ that Alea, Kartos, and Agyr died. She gave the order to stay for a few ticks to save those Galra prisoners, instead of pulling out immediately. She should’ve known better. They shouldn’t have died. She was lucky that Narti (and Kova) made it out alive despite everything. Despite  _ her failure _ .

 

Footsteps echoed in the hangar and Romelle quickly wiped her tears away. “I’m not in the mood for a lecture, Honerva.”

 

“I’m… not Honerva”, Acxa’s voice rang clear in the silent hangar. The Half Galra knelt next to her, her hand gently clasped Romelle’s shoulder. “I overheard what happened. I’m so sorry.”

 

Romelle hid her face again and felt shame and embarrassment washing over her. While she could bear Honerva and Zarkon’s disappointment, she didn’t think she couldn’t handle it if it came from Acxa.

 

But then the most surprising thing happened—Acxa  _ hugged  _ her, hesitant but gentle. Romelle leaned into the hug, equally hesitant, until their bodies pressed into each other. 

 

“I couldn’t save them. Your parents. I couldn’t save them… I’m sorry”, Romelle sobbed. “I’m so, so sorry.”

 

Honerva would tell her that she was not one to blame, while Zarkon would privately and silently mourn the loss of both their Gunslingers and the Galra prisoners.

 

But Acxa…  _ Acxa _ was quiet—she didn’t blame her, nor did she offer false reassurance. Her hug was tight and it spoke  _ I’m here, I’m here _ , and that—

 

— that was enough for her.

 

Romelle didn’t know how long she cried, but when she was done, her eyes felt swollen and her heart felt lighter. Acxa wiped her tears with the sleeve of her tunic and Romelle tried to hide her embarrassment.

 

“How do you feel?” Acxa asked.

 

Romelle cried once again. 


End file.
